Is the glass half empty or half full? Do you see that the storm provides much needed rain/snow or do you see the miserable change of weather than ruins your plans?

What do you see first when you look at something: The negative or the positive? Read the below text and see what you see first:

22 But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, "He's possessed by Satan,* the prince of demons. That's where he gets the power to cast out demons.” 23 Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. "How can Satan cast out Satan?" he asked.24 "A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.25 Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.26 And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive.27 Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house. 28 "I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven,29 but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences."30 He told them this because they were saying, "He's possessed by an evil spirit." Mark 3: 22-30

Most of us see the words ‘never be forgiven’ and that colors our world and the entire teaching of this powerful Bible text. As a matter of fact, it is one of the most often discussed Bible passages. Why? Mankind wants to know the limits of God’s grace and power. We want to know if we have crossed the border of the ‘unforgivable’. If that is where our minds first go as we read this text then we are seeing the negative first. There is a much more powerful truth at work in this text!

Jesus finishes making illustrations to help His enemies see their folly and then gives this statement: ‘All sin and blasphemy can be forgiven’. Read that again and highlight it. This is the key to the entire passage and it is certainly the key to understanding the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. For that matter, it is really one of the greatest facts about The God that we follow. He CAN forgive all sin. Focus on that word CAN. Our God is able. He is awesome in power. He is not limited by anything.

His grace is bigger than we can comprehend. Even in the face of His enemies, Jesus painted a picture of the height, width, depth and breadth of the love of God. Even in this negative environment, Jesus shared the most positive truth.

Are you a person who sees the negative first? Do you tend to point out and discuss the parts of life that seem ‘half-empty’? Today, consider this: Could you be missing the power of God when you see the negative first? Could a negative-first approach to life reduce my view of God and of good?

Tomorrow we will dig into the thing that keeps us unforgiven (the negative truth of this text) but today spend time expanding your view on God’s love and His awesome power to forgive. A bigger view of God’s forgiveness will change your outlook on life. It will change your prayer life. It might even change your ability to forgive others (the Bible teaches us to forgive as we have been forgiven). He CAN!